In Ramayana by R. K. Narayan, three stories stuck out
to me. The stories were Thataka’s Story(pg. 11 - 13) ,
Mahabali’s Story(pg. 13 - 16), and The Wedding(pg. 22 - 32). What
I found interesting in these stories was that Rama was able to kill three
demons and protect everyone as a human.
His weapon of choice was a bow.
It was interesting in his choice of a bow over other weapons. I am reminded of other cultures and instances
were bowmen were shunned. However, Rama
was fine with using a bow. In the
Wedding when he pulled the bow together, I was reminded of the Greek hero,
Odysseus, when he completed the same task.
What I also found interesting was that the demigods and the gods seemed
fallible. Take for instance Thataka,
initially she was a demigod of might, valor, and purity, and her sons were also
demigods but were wicked and carelessly destroyed life. Another example was Indra when he slept with
Ahalya. Which makes it appear as if all
gods and goddesses have all of the human desires and characteristics. Interestingly enough Vishnu appears to embody
the idea of a benevolent god who can do no wrong compared to the other gods and
goddesses. I also found it interesting in
The Wedding story when Sita and Rama first saw each other. It was love at first sight for them. I am intrigued at what role love played into
it. Because even though they were reincarnated
and lost their memories, they still found each other. I can only guess that it had to been the work
of the gods or true love. I am excited
to see were the story goes.
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| Rama with his Bow (Source: Wikipedia) |
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